The year was 1808. The place, Jammu. Raja Jaid Singh was placed on the throne of Jammu to be its king, supported by the presence of Mian Mota Singh, the all-powerful kingmaker of Jammu. In this period of madness in the province of Jammu, one hoped that Jammu would witness a semblance of balance and stability being created. Jammu had been in a free fall following the death of Raja Brijraj Dev. Sampuran Singh, the successor, succumbed to smallpox, leading to the situation that a new successor had to be found desperately. In the scramble, the name of Jaid Singh came forward, and with Mian Mota Singh’s support, Jaid Singh ascended the throne. Raja Brijraj Dev of Jammu ( painting with San Diego Museum of Art) Contributing to the constant madness in Jammu were the Khalsa forces who would raid Jammu and pillage it constantly, devoiding it of its wealth. The 1783 pillage of Jammu remained afresh in the minds of the people and the aristocrats alike - for two months, one witnessed not a single ...
Kullu is globally known for its vibrant gathering of the various devatas of Kullu valley, all coming to visit the royal family at the time of Dussehra. The royal family have been hosting the idol of Raghunath ji or Sri Rama at the Raghunath temple of Kullu. These devatas, or local deities, are all invited into the Ramchandra darbar by the royal family of Kullu as per tradition. While the festival is recorded to be at least from the 16th century. However, few people know that Kullu is the oldest state after Punjab and Kangra, known in the past as Kuluta. The oldest reference to the state comes from a coin issued by a certain Virayasa, the king who had it issued, dating back to 1-2 CE, as pointed out by Parmeshwari Lal Gupta and Hutchison and Vogel earlier. References to the state comes in the Mahabharata as the tribe north of the Kuru kingdom, alongside the Trigarta and the Kashmir kingdoms. It is however the reference in the Rajataramgini of Kalhana that we have an intere...